Singapore is gearing up for the upcoming presidential election to help citizens fight online threats and foreign interference.
The public and potential presidential candidates have been warned of malicious online activity such as misinformation and disinformation, data theft and disruption, and are urged to take steps to mitigate such risks. Advised.
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The presidential election, scheduled for Sept. 1, will be moved forward if more than one candidate is eligible to run. The decision is expected to be announced on August 22, following an evaluation of the applicant by the Electoral Commission and the Regional Commission. president of singapore His term as head of state is six years, and his role is primarily symbolic and custodian of the country’s reserves.
Six applications have been submitted to date, including one by former Senior Minister Salman Shanmugaratnam, who served as Deputy Prime Minister. The current president, Halima Yacoub, was elected unopposed in 2017 and is not seeking re-election.
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In statements released this week, various government agencies, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Singapore Police and the Singapore Cyber Security Agency, pointed to reports of alleged foreign interference in other countries’ elections. This includes his 2020 and his 2018 US presidential and midterm elections, respectively, and his 2017 French presidential election.
“Singapore is not immune either,” the agency said. “Singapore politics should be decided solely by Singaporeans. We should do everything we can to protect the integrity of the electoral process.”
They said Singapore should be prepared for attempts to sabotage the election process or call into question the integrity of the election online.
Election candidates are being asked to better understand potential threats and take necessary steps to protect their cybersecurity posture.
“Candidates should be knowledgeable about the precautions they can take to protect their IT infrastructure, online and social media accounts, data storage and management, and that the platform is free of suspicious activity. We encourage you to always be vigilant, including monitoring whether or not you’re using it, and don’t re-share posts or tweets of questionable origin,” the agency said.
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For example, data can be compromised through social engineering, malware infections, software vulnerabilities, and more. If compromised, data can be sold or made public, which can erode the credibility of political parties and candidates. Threat actors can also use the data to facilitate further attacks on other IT systems, further disrupting campaign efforts.
Election candidates should have a dedicated person responsible for the campaign’s cybersecurity posture to ensure the security of IT systems and digital assets, according to government agencies.
It also urged the general public to “adhere to good online behavior” and refrain from behavior that violates existing laws during the election period.
For example, individuals who share or repost false or misleading information may be held liable for communicating false messages under the Miscellaneous Offenses (Public Order and Nuisance) Act.
Also, under the Protection from Online Falsehood and Manipulation Act (POFMA), take action against individuals who “communicate false information online or post misleading or manipulated content.” I can. If you are found to have knowingly communicated these falsehoods, a crime will be committed.
